Steve Bannon, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, spoke out against the former president's latest migration idea to issue green cards to college graduates, telling Newsweek, "Simple: They leave the country and go home immediately after graduation."
Trump's proposal was discussed on Thursday's episode of the All-In podcast hosted by four Silicon Valley tech "industry veterans." During the episode, Trump said, "What I want to do, and what I will do, is—you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country, and that includes junior colleges, too."
He continued that the plan applies to those graduating from two- or four-year colleges, adding, "if you graduate or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country."
A green card, or permanent resident card, permits individuals to live and work permanently in the United States. It is a significant step toward U.S. citizenship, as green card holders can apply for citizenship after five years, or after three years if they have a U.S. citizen spouse.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic rival, promoted a similar proposal focused on graduate students. Her plan sought to allow students graduating with master's and Ph.D. degrees in STEM subjects to obtain green cards.
Bannon, among other supporters of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement, disagrees with the ex-president's proposal, telling Newsweek in a text message that non-U.S. citizen college students should "leave the country and go home immediately after graduation."
In another text, the War Room podcast host added: "This is not a plan—President Trump tossed out an idea on a podcast—and his most fervent supporters tossed it back."
During his presidency, Trump, who is running for office again, promoted a hard-line approach to immigration policy, notably his "Muslim Ban" and construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
When asked by Newsweek about the origins of the green card idea for college graduates, Bannon replied, "I have previously heard of this plan from Hillary Clinton in 2016 and from our sociopathic tech overlords every single day since her defeat."
Earlier on Friday, Bannon posted on Gettr a New York Post article with conservative supporters criticizing Trump's plan, with the caption: "Staple an Exit Visa." Bannon has over 6.7 million followers on the social media site.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump's national press secretary, clarified that the former president's proposals would also include "the most aggressive vetting process in U.S. history, to exclude all communists, radical Islamists, Hamas supporters, America haters and public charges."
Leavitt told Newsweek for a previous article that Trump "believes, only after such vetting has taken place, we ought to keep the most skilled graduates who can make significant contributions to America."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign spokesperson for additional comment on Friday.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, on Thursday is scheduled to tangle with President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate of this election cycle.
Bannon has been ordered to report to prison for a four-month sentence by July 1 after being convicted of contempt of Congress in 2022 for failing to comply with a subpoena in the investigation of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Connecticut and Brooklyn. She joined Newsweek as a reporter in 2024. She ... Read more
